Having recently moved to the Czech Republic from the UK, one of the things that I’ve had to get accustomed to are the country’s smoking laws. Used to being shoved out of the pub doors every time I fancied a cigarette with my pint, the fact that I can now sit at the bar and puff away to my heart’s content without offending anyone (at least not illegally) comes as something of a relief.
What has come as a bit of a shock to the system, however, is smoking of a different variety – marijuana. It’s everywhere. Now, I don’t know whether this says more about the kind of company I keep, but in pretty much every bar that I’ve visited since my arrival here I’ve been greeted by a haze of weed smoke. Indeed, if I had a crown for every spliff I’ve been offered in the last couple of months I’d probably have enough for a new lung.
Czech smoking culture goes hand in hand with 2009′s drug law reforms, which allow users to possess relatively small amounts of illegal substances. The decriminalization means that any user dealt with by the police will likely be charged with a misdemeanor offense, leading to no criminal record. A simple slap on the wrist.
With users being able to freely carry around and use up to 15 grams of cannabis – three times the amount that’s permitted in smokers’ paradise, the Netherlands – it’s easy to see why recent studies indicate that the Czech Republic has the highest rate of marijuana use among teens in Europe.
At 46 percent this figure is undoubtedly high, but of greater concern is the increasing flow of new synthetic drugs from neighboring Poland. The case reported by Aktualne.cz has worrying similarities with the recent mephadrone craze in the UK, which found a legal, ecstasy-like substance sold as “plant food” linked to the deaths of some young users.
As in the UK, drug manufacturers have been using loopholes in the law to create new strains of stimulants not covered by the 13-year-old law on addictive substances. A crackdown in Poland has seen many of the makers flee to the Czech Republic with reports of synthetic substances labeled as “not for human consumption” appearing in the Moravian-Silesian region.
According to Aktualne, national anti-drug coordinator Jindrich Voboril has asked ministers to prepare a change to the current laws, but there’s little case for optimism in a country where bureaucracy is still very much front and center. Cigarette, anyone?
Photography courtesy of garyowen @ Flickr
November 22nd, 2012
2 Comments at "The Czech Republic’s New Drugs War"
In answer to your question, yes, it’s the pubs you’ve been frequenting. Pot smokers aren’t lighting up in every pub, in fact rarely, if ever, do you encounter this in your normal pub. They only smoke dope in certain pubs and most people know which ones.
As far as smoking cigarettes is concerned the situation has gotten far less smoky and nowadays there are numerous pubs and restaurants that are either non-smoking or have non-smoking areas voluntarily. Typically smokers are asked to refrain from smoking in the pub at lunch time when most Czechs have their warm dish of the day. And no, the CZ isn’t entirely a Nanny State like the UK yet although some politicians and special interests keep trying…
Ditto that previous comment. When I first got to Prague, I hung out more in alternative pubs where young people hang out, and was surprised at how openly people smoked pot there. But when I go to “normal” pubs, I don’t see it at all.
Supposedly, the government’s big concern is with underage drinking, but I don’t see how the Czechs could possible be worse than the Brits or Germans. I know young Czechs get served in pubs, but I can’t believe they binge drink the way we do (did).
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